Olive – Liquid Gold

Orea Europaea, an evergreen tree that grows in the Mediterranean region, is at the same time a symbol of peace, abundance, fertility, and longevity.

It was moving through the history of humanity as part of sacred rituals and everyday life, what is evidenced by the numerous passages in sacred books such as the Bible and the Koran.

Leaving behind the symbolism and its long-lasting loyalty in the service of humanity, I will try to draw close and present numerous benefits of Olive Oil as well as potential hazards.

But above all, it is necessary to touch on the topics of the correctness of olive oil that are available to us and mention the required precautionary measures when choosing.

It turns out that 4 out of 5 bottles are actually forged. We have examples in Australia, California, the United Kingdom, where the rate of ﻿﻿﻿﻿falsified﻿﻿﻿﻿ oil is over 50%. Not to mention that 98% of olive oil today is not truly extra virgin olive oil but rather is fake and causes negative health benefits.

Types Of Olive Oil

Edible olive oil means oil derived from olive by a technological process that excludes the use of solvents and reesterification, as well as mixing with oils of other species.

Edible olive oil is marketed as:

Virgin - means the oil obtained from the olive oil exclusively by mechanical or other physical processes and which has not been subjected to any other treatment, except washing, grinding, decanting, centrifuging and filtering.

Refined olive oil - means oil obtained by the processes of refining virgin olive oil that do not lead to changes in the original structure of triglycerides.

The High Demand In The Market Opened The Door To Poor Quality

Depending on the quality of virgin olive oil, it is placed on the market as:

Virgin olive oil - extra virgin;

Virgin olive oil - virgins;

Virgin olive oil - usually virgin.

Under the Virgin (virgin) olive oil - extra virgin, it means the oil of good taste and specific odor that contains not more than 1,0% free fatty acids, calculated as oleic acid.

Under virgin olive oil - virgin, means the oil of good taste and specific odor that contains not more than 2.0% free fatty acids, calculated as oleic acid.

Under virgin olive oil - usually virgin, is a good taste and smell oil that contains not more than 3.3% free fatty acids, calculated as oleic acid.

Is Olive Oil Good For Frying And Cooking?

Yes. The myth is that olive oil is not suitable for frying.

The smoke point of olive oil is around 190 C, which means olive oil is good for any thermal treatment that takes place at temperatures below this. In practice, this means that olive oil is good both for cooking and for frying.

Every type of olive oil can be used for frying, but I personally consider that you do not need to use extra virgin olive oil, but any olive oil or pomace oil.

Health Benefits

Some properties share olive oil with other ﻿﻿vegetable﻿﻿ oils, while there are also those characteristics that are unique to it.

The high content of oleic acid protects our blood vessels and protects the body from the onset of malignant diseases. Contributes to the reduction of bad cholesterol - LDL without affecting the reduction of the level of good - HDL.

Vitamin E - it prevents oxidation of LDL cholesterol and the appearance of arteriosclerosis, and blood flows through the blood vessels of the arterial blood system smoothly. Tocopherol, as this vitamin is called, is a powerful antioxidant. It quickly binds to free radicals and thus prevents them from destroying cells in our body.

Barbara Whitney

For the last 20 years, I’ve been cooking, preparing, researching, and gathering recipes, tools, and knowledge about food and the way we prepare it. Raising two lively boys and spoiling one great husband later, it’s safe to say that I’ve optimized my kitchen to deliver the best possible meal, no matter the occasion.

Excellent info Barbara! We also use the extra virgin kind for the salads and also for cooking (like roasting or braising), but we use a plain olive oil when frying. And the good stuff always costs more. You can’t expect to get EVOO with 2$ a bottle. It’s just not feasible. Even here in Greece, we can buy straight from producers at wholesale, and still pay more than 4.5€/lt. So, when people buy cheap EVOO, it’s just NOT EVOO:) Great work. Sending you greetings from sunny Athens! Mirella and Panos